Friday, December 30, 2016

Best Debut Kpop Groups 2016

Music is a very subjective thing. That's the number one thing I've learned since getting into Kpop. I get that Kpop doesn't appeal to all people. It's not really meant to. I also understand that Kpop I like isn't going to be the same Kpop that another person likes. It's all totally personal based opinion.

I won't get ranty in this post (no promises later) but I want to be very clear that these will not be objective lists. It's impossible to look at music and music videos objectively. My best friend and I like all the same Kpop groups, we like all the same songs, but her list would be totally different from mine because of personal feelings I have toward groups. As a human, you have natural biases towards things. And it's okay. We can all still be friends.

So my favorite debuts of 2016 are all boy groups and 1 co-ed group. Why? Because I don't really listen to girl Kpop groups. I know about them, I think I have a Berry Good song downloaded on my iPod, but I don't enjoy Twice or IOI or Black Pink. I don't hate them, more power to you girls, I just don't enjoy the girl group Kpop sound. So you won't find any girl groups on my blog 98% of the time. Again, it's personal.

So here it is, the Kpop groups that debuted in 2016 that I totally appreciate. My reasoning will be under the cut if you want to know why I picked them and in this order. Enjoy!

#10 - INX - Alright

Oh INX, I really love this song, I don't know what happened with you. You debuted then disappeared off my radar. When I was making this video I remembered how much I liked you. I miss you. Come back soon!

#9 - K.A.R.D - Oh Na Na

This just came out and I really, really like it. It's easy to jam to and, of course, it gets stuck in my head easily. I watched JRE's reaction, then KARD's reaction to JRE, then JRE's reaction to KARD's reaction to him. It was cute. It endeared them to me a little more. So the song is good, and they seem like chill people. I look forward to what they do in 2017.

#8 - MASC - Strange

This song is in my playlist rotation all the time. I loooove it. They debuted while I was in the process of moving and getting adjusted to living in South Korea so I missed all their stages, but I want to go back and watch them all. I really like the video, and it's an amazing song. I hope they come back strong in 2017.

#7 - Pentagon - Gorilla

My best friend and I watched the first couple episodes of the reality show that led up to this group. We felt so bad for them because of their initial scores on the "pentagon" of the five points that were required to be in the group. Some had 1s and 2s! Why go on!? Then they fell off our radar for a while. Their debut song, Gorilla, is not my favorite, but I really like the boys. They are all super pretty. Their second comeback song, Can You Feel It, is better though not as catchy; I enjoy watching the performance on music shows. They keep getting better and better and I can't wait to see what's next.

#6 - NCT 127 - Fire Truck

This is where ranking started to get tricky. I adore NCT 127, like I am pretty trash for them. I wasn't a huge fan of NCT U because 7th Sense is a terrible song, and while Dream is full of adorableness I don't like that Chewing Gums song. Don't get me wrong, I love every member of NCT like they were my own children, but 127 was just standout with this Fire Truck song and performance. Fire Truck was such a big part of my summer, I listened to it so much, it was difficult to put it at 6. It's here, though, because I only own 2 NCT songs, where as I own more songs from the groups higher up on the list. But this song is bad ass, and they are coming back in a week or so, and I am super geeked. I see all the teasers and know that I am just NCT 127 trash. Get it boys.

#5 - Astro - Hide and Seek

I have been following Astro since my friends showed me their little show To Be Continued on DramaFever. I was excited for their debut, but Hide and Seek was a bad song. It's not terrible, but it's not great. I didn't like watching the performances, I didn't download the song. But their First Love song I can't stop listening to, it's so good. Then Breathless came out and I loved that song for some reason and I've seen every performance. Confession is ok, I bought a few songs off their fall album, but their music isn't 100% my style. The boys, however, are my dearest nephews. My bestie has claimed them as her children, so we watch a lot of Astro stuff. I do love them, but their style of music has them lower on the list than other groups. I really wrestled with NCT 127 and Astro, but since I have more of their songs (I mean, they have more songs too I suppose) I put Astro higher. And for sure I am looking forward to their winter album, whenever that comeback happens.

#4 - SF9 - Fanfare

Whoa SF9! Where did you come from? I watched their little choose your own adventure drama on DramaFever and I thought Chani was the cutest thing under the sun so I started following Neo Boyz? on YouTube. When they debuted as SF9, however, I was floored. I love both their songs, they are on full rotation in my playlists. Fanfare and K.O. are amazing....just proved by the fact that when I went to go find those links I just spent 10ish minutes watching the videos instead of coming back to write more, lol. I adore those boys, I am so excited to see what they bring in 2017.

#3 - Imfact - Lollipop

Imfact. My five children that make me so aggressively affectionate I can't stand it. I am Imfact trash, mostly Ungjae and Sang trash, but I adore the five of them. They were at number 2 until I actually made the video and realized how big KNK was in my life this year. I know my bestie would rank Imfact lower; she loves them, but they aren't her kids (Astro are her kids ^^). These five idiots, however, are very dear to my heart and I was so excited for their comeback late this year, and Feel So Good has grown on me to the point its on all my playlists. Lollipop was my jam for the longest time, and I still love to play it loud and do the dance. I can't tell you how much I love these five kiddos and I wish them so much success in 2017. They work hard and deserve it.

#2 - KNK - Knock

Originally at number 3, when I re-watched the video I remembered that my bestie and I watched this video a billion-dy times. When I discovered their live show, I immediately showed her and told her we had to love them. Then we watched all their Vapp stuff; we would spend whole Saturdays just watching KNK be idiots on Vapp. While their subsequent songs were not as strong in my opinion as their first, they were still good songs, and I adore the five of them with all my heart. I love watching them be idiots, Jihun and Heejun throwing themselves to the floor when they laugh, Seungjun being clueless about life, Inseong getting annoyed or instigating it all, and Youjin just shaking his head at the insane group of boys he's found himself in. They are all characters I love, they make good music, and they have been a huge part of my 2016.

#1 - Victon - I'm Fine

Victon is a newer debut group at the end of 2016. I know I saw stuff on Tumblr about Plan A boys but I didn't ever pay close attention. Then someone started posting Victon stuff when they were debuting and it caught my eye. I never feel in love with a group of boys so fast, other than maybe KNK. Groups usually take a week or two to suck me in; I fight it because I love so many groups already. Victon was not like that. I went and watched I'm Fine and I was like "those are my boys." I am absolute Victon trash for all seven boys and their songs. Again, I know that my bestie would not rank them as high (she loves them too!) and this is totally a personal judgement call. There are groups here with better dancing and better songs, but my heart has been given to these boys. They have changed my life in the last few months and I'm ok with that. They are cute and perform well and they can only get stronger in 2017.

So there you go. Like I sad, it's very subjective. It's my list, my opinion, and you can totally disagree with it. Feel free to give me your own list of 2016 debut groups in the comments, or rearrange my list. Have a happy New Year!